


Edifice

by methylviolet10b



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-12-20 11:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/886498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/methylviolet10b/pseuds/methylviolet10b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Watson does not consider himself a conductor of light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Edifice

**Author's Note:**

> Written for JWP #16: **Viewer's Choice:** Use one of the following pictures as the inspiration for today's entry (or if you're really brave, use both!) For this one, I used the picture of the [Lighthouse](http://www.jean-guichard.com/photos/france/brittany-finistere/ouessant/la-jument-00012).
> 
>   
>  **Warnings** : Almost no plot whatsoever. **And absolutely no beta.** This was written in a complete rush. You have been warned.  
>   
> 

  
  
  
Holmes said once that I am a conductor of light, although I am not myself luminous. He meant it as a compliment of sorts, and so I tried to accept it as such. But I could not help thinking even then of Fresnel lenses, those marvels of glass and engineering. Works of art themselves, they magnify a small light into mighty beacons that guide ships safely past hidden dangers. _Those_ are conductors of light.  
  
They are nothing like me. I knew that then, and I know it even more so now.  
  
No, I am far more like the lighthouse building that exists merely to house that brilliant light. A plain, utilitarian structure that fulfills a function, nothing more; valued for its sturdiness and ability to weather terrible storms rather than for any particular desirability as a place of residence or occupation.  
  
Time has proven that I am built for adversity. I have weathered many calamities in my life, disasters that have claimed the lives of far better and far brighter individuals than I am. War, misfortune, and ill-health have all scarred me, but not destroyed me. I endure, and I serve. In fact I have shaped my life around service: to my country as a soldier (however ill-fated my Army career); to my fellow man as a doctor; and to the convenience of the singular individual known to the world as Sherlock Holmes.  
  
The latter service has brought its own scars and storms. I have weathered his quick temper, his relentlessness in pursuit of his own ends, his self-neglect and dark days, his occasional forays into addiction and despair. I have survived the criminals and chaos that surround his cases. There have been balmy days too, the warmth of companionship and regard, the satisfaction of difficult work well done, people helped, lives saved. And always there is his brilliance, the shining beacon that illuminates all.  
  
While I can, I will endure, and bask in the light.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted July 16, 2013


End file.
